Savant's Grace
by Now More So
Summary: The Cardinal War has raged for a century, four major powers fighting to be right. A band of refugees, fleeing conscription, seek out the Savants, mysterious creatures, believed to be dead. Can they deal with what they find? Or will the war rage forever?


Savant's Grace

Chapter 1 - The Cardinal War.

The Cardinal War. A war that had raged for many decades. Decades that were filled with naught but bloodshed, men and women dying, as the four major powers of the world fought for little more than the right to be right.  
>It had started with what was known as the Purge. The world was in crisis, humanity was destroying itself, when the Savants appeared. They were gifted. Some had amazing mental powers, able to bend reality in almost any concievable way. Others had physical abilities. They could crush mountains into dust and raze forests. Some of them could influence the world of dreams, bringing forth apparitions of nightmares from people's twilight thoughts to drive them to the edge of insanity and back. The fourth area of the Savant's skills lay in a mixture of the three, though they paid for this in power. They did not have the abilites their compatriots possessed. And then there was the fifth set of Savants...<br>They were mysterious and powerful and few in number. The possessed every power and they could use them as effectively as any other. They kept watch with a vigilant eye, always wary, always watching.  
>The Savants were benevolent and compassionate. They appeared human except their eyes and skin were pure white. Males were bald. Females had long, braided hair usually a soft gold colour. They could see the state of the world and they wished to help.<br>Humans were wary of the Savants. Their nature, their appearance was alien. Savants proposed an alliance to restore equilibrium to the planet that was ripping itself apart. The leaders of humanity were desperate and so agreed, albeit reluctantly. And so the Savants went to work.  
>They created the Four Capitals, great metropolises, and divided humanity amongst them. Each world power ruled their own Capital. Europe in the Northern Capital, America in the Western Capital, the Asian Territories in the East and in the South was a mix of the African Colonies, South America and Australia. The Savants governed each Capital wisely and humanity began to flourish again.<br>It didn't last long.  
>Many people began to set the Savants up as gods and began to worship them, angering the many faiths. They began to whisper of revolution. Eventually it happened.<br>Humanity turned on the Savants who, despite their overwhelming advantages, refused to fight back. They did not stand for violence. They were quickly overwhelmed and all were presumed killed.  
>Things did not settle down afterward however. Each Capital bragged about how they had single-handedly destroyed their gods. Then they began to turn on each other, all of them claiming they had the biggest part in the Purge, as it was called.<br>Tensions quickly escalated and things came to a head when Northeners opened fire on the Westeners during a protest at a speech about the bravery of the North during the Purge. War was declared mere hours later.  
>The Southeners and the Easteners soon found reason to join in, making allegiances and treaties with both sides, breaking them hours after they were made. Eventually the South Capital and the East Capital broke off all alliances and the Cardinal War truly began.<br>War refugees flooded from the Capitals into open countryside, making little villages of their own. Life was tough but, as they reasoned, it was better than living homeless in the Capitals under constant threat of conscription.  
>They were all fed up with the war, fed up of the violence and some made quiet plans to put a stop to it, even if they held no hope of success.<p>

* * *

"I'm sorry, Jaime, I can't help you," Rex said in a strained voice. His patience was being sorely tested by this young Southener.  
>"Why?" Jaime demanded, striding behind Rex, "You're sensible enough to know that my idea is the only idea that might end this infernal war."<br>"It's insane!" Rex insisted, stopping outside his makeshift hut that served as his home. It was no different from any other refugee home. They all came from different Capitals, different social backgrounds but they all wanted the same thing: peace, "I'm sorry but I don't have the authority I seem to have been given. We're all equals here." He ducked inside his hut leaving Jaime standing there fuming.  
>"What is the point," She muttered, "Of people thinking up ideas to end the war if nobody is going to listen to them?"<br>She stopped and took a deep breath to calm herself down. The familiar sounds and smells of her little shanty home were calming. Chickens clucking, people talking, the sweet smell of the small apple orchard nearby.  
>"Jaime?" Came a voice from behind, "What are you doing here?"<br>Jaime turned around to see her childhood friend, Marianne, walking towards her.  
>"Same question." Jaime replied with a wink.<br>Marianne shrugged, "I knew you'd be around here somewhere. Seems to me that you're always thinking up some crazy scheme or another to end this war."  
>Jaime studied her friend. She had changed drastically since their days playing on the streets of South Capital. Back then she was short and tubby, with glossy black ringlets and a charming, dimpled smile. The long trek to the refugee 'village' had taken it's toll. She had an unhealthy appearence. Her skin was drawn and pinched. Her hair hung lifelessly down her back. She looked much older and sadder.<br>"You call them schemes huh?" Jaime asked.  
>"They'll never work Jaime. Leave Rex alone for a while. Life is hard enough for us all at the moment without you adding to people's worries."<br>Jaime looked away. Marianne grabbed her by the elbow, forcing her to spin round.  
>"You can't mourn your parents forever. Let it go."<br>"I'll let it go when this war is finally over. And this time my idea will work. I'm sure."  
>Marianne shook her head.<br>"It wasn't your fault. Think about it."  
>She walked away. Jaime made sure she was gone before wiping her eyes on her sleeve.<br>She had to get someone to listen to her idea. It would be ideal if there was another Ideas for the War Cessation meet but they occured once a month and she had missed it this month. They were never very long sessions as nobody ever had any ideas that composed of something other than 'Lets pray and see what happens.'  
>Lost in thought, Jaime wandered over to a large maple tree that stood on the edge of their little shanty town. It had a broad base and there were two roots that formed a little hollow. It was here that Jaime liked to sit quietly and think up her 'schemes.'<br>"Why does Rex consider my idea crazy?" Jaime wondered allowed. "It's not exactly hard... It's just the outcome is a little hard to predict."  
>"It's crazy Jaime. Accept it." Rex said, appearing suddenly beside her.<br>"Would've been nice if you announced your presense." Jaime muttered, annoyed that she had been caught talking to herself.  
>"I'm sorry." Rex said. He sat down on the root, the sunlight streaming of his ebony skin. There was something very reassuring about him despite his thick muscles and scarred face. He calmed people down. Maybe it was why all the refugees looked to him for authority.<br>"Why is it crazy? It could work." Jaime protested.  
>"Could is the main word there. Could generally tends to imply the equal possibilities of both success and failure."<br>"So?"  
>Rex looked at her. She was sitting there with a slight frown. He thought she was very pretty. Thick blonde hair, framing a face that still held vestiges of baby fat. Her eyes, turquoise blue, betrayed her otherwise youthful appearance. They were the haunted eyes of someone who had seen too much pointless pain and suffering and just wanted it to stop. In that sense, they were the same. But he wasn't going through with the idea of the crazy Southener.<br>"Jaime, the only reason we haven't been found and we haven't been forced to fight thus far is because the Capitals are too busy to care what we get up to. We keep a low profile, we mind our own business. If we go through with your plan every eye in every Capital will turn to us. You remember the stories of the Purge. You want to bring it down on us?"  
>Jaime recoiled, shocked by the accusation in his voice. She wanted peace, not more death.<br>"Exactly." said Rex, "You wouldn't even know where to look would you?"  
>"Yes I would."<br>Rex sneered at her.  
>"Oho really?" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Where?"<br>"The Sky Mausoleum." Jaime said, angrily.  
>It was Rex's turn to recoil.<br>"You really are mad aren't you? You only go to the Sky Mausoleum if you have a death wish."  
>"And if we have a wish for life? We both know our will to live is stronger than our acceptance of death. Look at us. That's why we're here."<br>Rex shook his head, a disbelieving smile on his face.  
>"The Sky Mausoleum is a place of incredible power. Just going inside would be enough to crush your body and leave your mind in tatters."<br>"We'll see." Jaime said smugly.  
>"Will we?" Rex said.<br>"Yes."  
>"No we won't," Rex replied, starting to get angry now, "It's foolish and nobody here is going to die. Not on my watch. If you want to go to the Sky Mausoleum, fine. Go alone."<br>He stood up and stormed off.  
>"OK." Jaime whispered to his back. "I will go. I'll bring back a Savant and restore peace to this planet if it's the last thing I do."<p>

A/N:  
>I loved writing this. Three days it took to write this! I took a lot of care. Probably coulda taken a bit more still but im glad its done. i'll upload as soon as my internet is back up again.<br>And yes i know what Savants really are... People with extremely strong talents in one area or another. in case anyone was thinking of pointing it out... It's where i got the idea in the first place... So...

Please review if you read! I'll appreciate it!

Aaron 


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